BETTING TIPS:

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea Betting Tips

Tottenham’s standout performance of the Premier League season so far came against Chelsea in late November.

A 3-1 defeat rather flattered Maurizio Sarri’s side, who were completely outplayed by their London rivals at Wembley. The first leg of these two teams’ EFL Cup semi-final may well be closer than that encounter, but Spurs look well placed to emerge victorious against Chelsea once more.

Aside from a shock 3-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 30, Spurs have been in fantastic form in the last few weeks.

Friday’s 7-0 thrashing of Tranmere Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup means Mauricio Pochettino’s men have now won six of their last seven games in all competitions, while they have scored a total of 22 goals in their last five.

Pochettino has been deploying a system which gets the best out of attacking quartet Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, all of whom have the ability to do damage to Chelsea’s backline.

With that in mind it is worth considering a wager on Tottenham to score 2+ goals, which is available at 19/20 with Coral.

Alli, incidentally, has scored six times in his six previous appearances against Chelsea, and can be found at 37/13 to score anytime with Unibet.

⚽️ Dele Alli has scored more goals against #CFC than he has against any other opponent [6]

🔥 He also has 4⃣ goals in his last 5⃣ League Cup appearances for Spurs!

Chelsea may have lost only one of their last nine outings across the Premier League, Europa League, EFL Cup and FA Cup, but their recent performances have left a lot to be desired.

A stuttering 0-0 draw with Southampton in their last Premier League assignment featured plenty of insipid attacking play, while Sarri’s side also struggled to create many clear-cut chances in the 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace a few days previously.

Chelsea have scored more than one goal in just one of their last five clashes with top-flight teams, so a Spurs clean sheet (21/20 with Coral) is certainly a possibility here.

In terms of a semi-final double, though, the best pick is a straightforward home win – offered at 11/10 by Black Type.

Tottenham are going through their best spell of the season in terms of all-round displays, and their combination of attacking fluency and energetic pressing could overwhelm Chelsea just as it did in the Premier League meeting back in November.

Manchester City vs Burton Albion

It is not an exaggeration to say that the 2-1 victory over Liverpool last Thursday night could be a season-defining result for Manchester City, who are now just four points adrift of top spot in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s men have turned their attention towards domestic cup competitions in the last few days, locking horns with Rotherham United in the FA Cup on Sunday before they continue the defence of their EFL Cup crown against Burton on Wednesday.

The Brewers have done brilliantly to reach this stage of the tournament, but they could be on the end of a thrashing at the Etihad Stadium this week.

Guardiola may have named a first-choice starting XI had his team been drawn alongside Chelsea or Tottenham in the last four, but the identity of City’s opponents means he will almost certainly shuffle the pack here.

Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan were all left out of the line-up against Liverpool but could be handed an opportunity, but Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo remain sidelined through injury.

The attacking firepower at Guardiola’s disposal means City could rack up a big win even if the likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling are left on the bench – over 3.5 goals for the hosts looks like good value at 6/4 (Paddy Power).

At the other end of the field, it is difficult to see Burton breaching City’s backline; Guardiola’s charges will dominate possession from start to finish, meaning it will be tough for the visitors to simply get the ball into attacking areas. A City clean sheet is therefore a likely outcome, although even the best odds (4/7 with Betfair) are perhaps not as tempting as other alternatives.

City are overwhelming favourites to come out on top against Nigel Clough’s men, so there is little value to be had in backing a straightforward home win – available at 1/10 with Bet365.

A home victory and over 3.5 goals in total can be found at 10/11 with Ladbrokes, but the best option for the EFL Cup semi-final double is the aforementioned over 3.5 goals for City.